Delaware

Amid visa revocations, students call on University of Delaware to resist Trump

Published

10 months ago

April 23, 2025

Amid visa revocations, students call on University of Delaware to resist Trump

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Chants of “We will not put up with ICE” and “We stand with international students” filled a campus courtyard last week at the University of Delaware.

Some 200 students had gathered to protest the Trump administration’s revocation of eight UD-sponsored visas for students to study there or work in the United States, and called on Delaware’s flagship university to do more to protect its 2,200 international students.

Three of those at UD who had their visas or legal status terminated are graduate students, and five were doing post-grad work, according to an alert the university provided April 10. The notice came as the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump began revoking visas at campuses in the region and across America — a number that has since surpassed 1,000.

Dennis Assanis, UD’s president, and other school leaders assured the campus community in the alert that the Newark-based school “had no advance notice of or involvement with these decisions by the federal government.” Assanis stressed that he knew of no student “being arrested or detained” and that UD officials were not aware “of a federal law enforcement presence on our campus related to these matters.”

The school is also providing information on its website to answer questions from concerned students and employees.

Citing news reports from around the nation, the website says that federal actions at UD could be “occurring as a result of past law enforcement issues, visa infractions or failure to maintain immigration status, and protest activities.”

UD is also offering its international students and workers a “free 15-minute, one-on-one consultation with immigration attorneys,” the website says.

The students who gathered outside Old College Hall off Newark’s Main Street for some 90 minutes last Wednesday called out both the Trump administration and the school’s leadership. Some faculty members attended but did not address the crowd.

Nora Lucas, a Kansas native working on her doctorate in geography at UD, participated as a member of the university’s Graduate Student Mutual Aid group.

“These status terminations just kind of came out of nowhere and then we’ve just been working ever since to try to get resources out to people,” Lucas told WHYY News. “But it’s definitely been shocking and it’s pretty terrifying for international students, especially in the beginning.”

State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton spoke during the demonstration and wants her alma mater’s leaders to resist Trump. (Courtesy of Emma Abrams)

The protesters decried the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, yelling that they didn’t want so-called ICE agents on campus. They complained that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “brags about deporting students for exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Some held signs railing against deportations, visa revocations and even the arrest of protesters at other campuses. One placard waved by a young man proclaimed: “My classmate isn’t the threat. ICE is.”

UD’s website informed students, however, that immigration enforcement agents are not required to notify university officials if they go to public areas such as its grounds, library or student centers, which are places anyone can enter.

But to enter private areas such as dormitories, ICE agents must have a warrant signed by a judge and an arrest warrant if they plan to detain someone, the school said.

UD also linked to a webpage from the Delaware Attorney General’s Office that outlines the rights people have if approached by ICE agents.

But Emma Abrams, co-chair of UD’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, which helped organize the rally, called on the school to be a more strident defender of its student body.

“We believe deeply that these visa revocations as they are happening currently are illegal and the university should not be complying with illegal visa revocations,” said Abrams, a junior from Charleston, South Carolina, who is majoring in environmental and natural resource economics.

Emma Abrams, co-chair of UD’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter (Courtesy of Emma Abrams)

Abrams said her group has tried to meet with UD’s Board of Trustees, which includes Assanis, to discuss the issues, but essentially was ignored — a response she said is typical.

“They really don’t interact at all, day to day,” Abrams said.

Assanis would not speak with WHYY News about the revocations or the students’ concerns, but the school shared its notice to the campus community, including the webpage with questions and answers, and a statement issued after the demonstration.

UD “takes very seriously all matters pertaining to the wellbeing and safety of our international students and scholars,” the statement said. Officials “will continue to support them while remaining in compliance with all applicable laws … and providing them with necessary support resources, including access to various university services and outside immigration legal counsel.”

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Delaware

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Published

4 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Karl Baker
| Spotlight Delaware

This story was produced by Spotlight Delaware as part of a partnership with Delaware Online/The News Journal. For more about Spotlight Delaware, visit www.spotlightdelaware.org.

A Delaware law passed last year in the wake of escalating assaults on the state’s corporate brand shielded powerful company leaders from facing certain lawsuits brought by smaller investors.

What it didn’t do was violate the Delaware Constitution, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday, Feb. 27.

More than three months after hearing arguments, the justices ruled that the corporate law reform – known as Senate Bill 21 – did not strip Delaware’s prominent Court of Chancery of its constitutional authority to decide when a business deal is fair.

“The General Assembly’s enactment of SB 21 falls within the ‘broad and ample sweep’ of its legislative power,” the justices stated.

The ruling ends a bruising fight in Delaware over when the state’s business court should allow small-time investors to interrogate insider deals struck within companies by founders or other business leaders.

The ruling also averts what could have been an embarrassment for the state’s legal and political establishment had the high court overturned the law.

More than a year ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the world’s richest person — was calling on business leaders to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware. Musk had launched the campaign, which became known as “DExit,” after a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled that he could not accept a multibillion-dollar pay package from Tesla.

Just as the campaign appeared to be gaining a foothold, Gov. Matt Meyer, legislative leaders, and Delaware attorneys who represent corporations threw their collective heft behind SB 21.

They argued then that the legislation amounted to a “course correction” that would bring the state’s business courts back into alignment with rulings from a decade ago. Many also said the bill was needed to pacify executives who were considering following Musk’s calls to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware.

In response, a cadre of critics — which included national law professors, pension fund attorneys, and a handful of progressives within the Delaware legislature — derided SB 21 as a “billionaires bill.”

Some also argued that the legislation was the latest in a string of recent changes to Delaware corporate law that have shifted the state away from protecting shareholder rights and toward giving greater deference to powerful executives.

Meyer and others SB 21 supporters rejected those characterizations last year. And on Friday, he celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In a statement, he said the decision affirms that “Delaware is the gold standard locale for global companies to do business.” He also stated that the number of companies that maintain their legal home in Delaware had increased throughout 2025 despite the DExit campaign.

“In short, SB 21 is working, and I’m glad it will continue to be the law,” Meyer said.

The legal arguments for SB 21

When arguing against SB 21 in front of the Supreme Court last fall, one attorney asserted that the new law removed the Chancery Court’s time-honored and constitutional duty to say what is fair – or equitable – in a business dispute.

The attorney, Gregory Varallo, argued that by removing a shareholders’ ability to sue their company, the law reduced what he described as the immutable power of the Court of Chancery to oversee a “complete system of equity.”

During his arguments, Varallo also offered the justices an unusual acknowledgement, stating that he knew that his stance was unpopular — and that he understood “well the pressures on this court.”

The comments were a likely reference to the consensus of big business groups and the state’s political establishment that believed SB 21 was necessary for Delaware to remain the world’s preeminent corporate domicile.

Following Varallo, Washington, D.C.-based attorney Jonathan C. Bond defended SB 21, in part, by characterizing his opponents arguments as unprecedented. If adopted, he said they would imperil several existing Delaware laws that go back decades.

He also argued that changing the rules of corporate law – as SB 21 did – “is the same as wiping out jurisdiction merely because it makes some plaintiff’s claims harder.”

Also arguing in favor of SB 21 during the hearing was William Savitt, an attorney with the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz – among the most prominent corporate law firms in the country.

Last spring, Meyer hired Savitt’s firm to represent the state in the legal defense of SB 21 for a budget rate of $100,000. By comparison, Wachtell Lipton charged Twitter $90 million in 2022 to ferry that company through its arduous, four-month-long acquisition by Elon Musk.

Wachtell’s client list also includes Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives and board members, who last summer settled a seven-year-long, multibillion-dollar shareholder lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court.

During his arguments on SB 21, Savitt said equity as determined by judges must follow the statutes created by the legislature, and “not displace the law.”

“No natural reading of the words (of the Delaware Constitution) support plaintiff’s position,” he said.

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Delaware

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

Published

12 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

State police identified 29-year-old Brian Silva of New Castle as the victim of a fatal motorcycle crash in Wilmington.

Silva was riding a Harley-Davidson northbound on Dupont Highway approaching Millside Drive in Wilmington around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 when it collided with the rear of a stopped Lexus at that intersection, police said. Silva was ejected from the motorcycle. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Delaware State Police are still investigating this incident, and anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to them or to Delaware Crime Stoppers.

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Delaware

When will Delaware warm up? After snow, ice Tuesday, temps will rise

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

When will Delaware warm up? After snow, ice Tuesday, temps will rise

Meteorological winter has ended and we’ve entered spring.

However, there’s still a last winter blast hitting Delaware early this week before a spring warm up hits at the end of the week.

Here’s a look at the Delaware forecast.

Will Delaware see more snow?

After a brisk Monday, March 2 with sunny skies and highs only reaching 35 degrees, there’s a chance of snow after 1 a.m. Tuesday, March 3 with freezing rain after 4 a.m. in New Castle County. Snow and freezing rain are expected before noon Tuesday, March 3. The county may receive less than a half inch of accumulation.

In Kent County and Sussex County, there’s a chance of snow and freezing rain after 1 a.m. Tuesday, March 3.

When will it warm up in Delaware?

It will start feeling like spring as warmer air moves into the First State on Tuesday evening, March 3, but wet weather is coming as well.

Rain is predicted from Tuesday, March 3 through Friday, March 5, but spring-like temperatures will make it bearable. In New Castle County temperatures will range from the mid-50s on Wednesday, March 3 to the 60s on Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5. Kent County should see temperatures in the 60s and Sussex County will see 70s during the mid- to later part of the week

What’s the weekend forecast?

Remember when you were daydreaming about warm weather during the polar vortex or blizzard? Well, it is coming next weekend.

The forecast is calling for sunny to partly sunny skies throughout Delaware on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. Highs will reach the upper 60s in the north to the low 70s in the south.

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